Never Forgotten
by imsuchanut
Summary: The Doctor accidentally lands himself and Rose in the outbreak of World War Three. Rose is deeply hurt by the lack of empathy citizens show for the armed forces during the battle, so the Doctor brings them to a day where everyone remembers. In honor of Memorial Day and all our armed forces.


**A/N: This is for everyone celebrating Memorial Day. Thank you to all of those who protect our freedoms and liberties, you are truly amazing and we appreciate all you have done.**

For once, the ride was smooth as the Doctor landed the TARDIS. The sentient ship knew how bad this was, and tried her best to ease the tension. The ship's owner turned to his companion, and pulled her close to him. Rose instantly curled into the Doctor's embrace, and buried her head in his chest. He in turn stroked her hair, whispering support in her ear.

The Doctor sighed. Nothing was ever simple with them, was it? He meant to take them to London in 2005. Instead, they ended up in 2020. That wouldn't have been so bad, except for that they landed in June.

Bloody June the fifth.

The outbreak of World War Three.

It was a horrible, gruesome day, matching battles of previous wars in terms of gruesomeness; topping them in casualties. A terrorist group had taken control of several countries, and decided to put on a surprise show. They opened fire in New York City, but a group of brave soldiers faced them and tried to protect the people. The soldiers were vastly outnumbered, and were killed. Their bodies were hung in the middle of the square, for all to see. No one seemed to care, instead they wanted someone to blame for the crimes and an excuse to pull the trigger at random.

The world reacted by picking sides and declaring war all on each other, the city of New York being blasted to pieces as people from all over the world chose to fight for their side.

Neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. Citizens everywhere argued for no real reason, using any and every opportunity to pick fights and declare their nation of choice's superiority.

It was chaos and murder for no reason at all.

The Doctor and Rose barely made it out alive, having been dragged down by the mobs several times.

What broke down Rose though, was the fact that those poor soldiers' bodies were still hanging in the square, and they seemed to be completely forgotten. Those men and women who gave their lives to defend liberty, were cast aside in favor of quarrelling. They were murdered, and people were too busy caring petty quarrel then the truth of war and the destruction it causes.

They were forgotten. By a whole city, they were forgotten.

Cast aside.

Abandonned.

And as much as she felt selfish for thinking so, Rose found herself wondering if that would happen to her. What if she died on some alien planet, would anyone ever know she existed? Or what if the Doctor got bored with her? Would the Doctor just abandon her someday? Would she be just like Sarah Jane? Another in a long line? Would she be cast aside so that the Doctor could go off and do something stupid, because he could? As much as she trusted him, and as strong as her feelings were for him, she wasn't too sure about her future. She didn't want to be alone and forgotten.

The Doctor should've known something was off the moment they landed. He should've felt a bitter taste in the air, a sign that the storm was coming. As it happened, he did feel something odd, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He was distracted, yet again. By Rose.

Today was supposed to be a great day. He was going to take them back in time to London, to watch them meet for the first time. It was going to be utterly romantic, he was going to tell her how he felt and they were going to get together, because he knew she felt the same. But he must've gotten distracted (again), because they landed in a completely wrong spot.

Bloody World War Three. How did he mess that up so bad?

And now he had messed up things with Rose. True, she didn't blame him, but she was hurting. She was scarred from the battle, and it was all because of him. He messed up the navigation, and had to see all the death and pain. Not only that, but she was having doubts about him.

He could tell, he always could tell what she was feeling, really. He tried to put a block on his telepathic sensing of her, but they were so tactile and so in love that it didn't really work, especially when they were so close.

The Doctor brought them to one place that could possibly make things better. Not alright, because that was going to take a lot more time and effort, but better.

The Doctor pulled them out of their embrace, and clasped Rose's hand. He pulled them out of the TARDIS door, keeping her close to him. "New York City, 2035. It's been fifteen years since the Battle of New York, and fifteen since World War Three." Rose looked at him in confusion, wondering how short the war had been. "World War Three had the most advanced weapons the world has ever seen. It was short and quick, and the terrorist-controlled nations were quickly blindsided. But it's not about the victory, it's about what it took to get there."

The Doctor pulled Rose into the crowd of people, eventually making their way to the front. There was a huge memorial to the soldiers who had been hung in the Battle of New York, and shrines everywhere. Posters, flowers, notes, all surrounded the site; telling about how thankful the world was for the brace soldiers, and that they will never be forgotten. Rose felt something shift inside of her.

"It's Memorial Day, Rose. The Armed forces and all their sacrifices are celebrated. None of these people were ever forgotten. At the time, it seemed like they were abandoned, but they never were. Every year, people pay homage to these brave people who fought to keep everyone safe."

It was beautiful and heartbreaking, and Rose felt better knowing that the soldiers were appreciated in the end. All their sacrifice wasn't for nothing.

The Doctor knew she was feeling somewhat better, and inwardly smiled. Rose's fears were dissipating, and the Doctor knew that she was feeling better about their relationship (or lack thereof). He was going to reassure her, anyways. This time, he would not get it all wrong.

He was going to let his soldier know just how much he valued her fighting.


End file.
